Sunday, July 27, 2008

Is Stripping an Art?


That's the question being asked in a small Iowa community.
It all began on July 21, 2007, at Shotgun Geniez in Hamburg, where the sheriff's 17-year-old niece climbed up on stage and stripped off her clothing. Owner Clarence Judy was charged with violating Iowa's public indecent exposure law.

Judy responded that the law doesn't apply to a "theater, concert hall, art center, museum, or similar establishments" devoted to the arts or theatrical performances.

"Dance has been considered one of the arts, as is sculpture, painting and anything else like that. What Clarence has is a club where people can come and perform," said Michael Murphy, Judy's attorney.Murphy also noted that the club has a gallery selling collectible posters and other art. And it provides patrons with sketch pads.

Fremont County Attorney Margaret Johnson said it's all nonsense.
No, it's not all nonsense.

Take a look at the image above, from a 1934 issue of Vanity Fair, in which the artist pairs fan dancer Sally Rand with choreographer Martha Graham. Striptease and burlesque was elevated to an art form long ago. Somewhere along the line burlesque faded away, to be replaced by cheap strip joints in seedy areas of towns. Restrictive zoning and tough ordinances have thrown most clubs into the ash heaps of society.

Every time someone wants to make stripping more respectable, along come the moralists like the ones in Iowa who incite the public with scare tactics, such as the comments of Fremont County attorney Margaret Johnson.
"Are you saying that minors can't be protected? Can a group of 12-year-olds come down and go in and dance nude and it's OK? I don't think that's what the Legislature had in mind when it made those additional provisions," Johnson said.
I really despise when people resort to such dishonest exaggerations. Nobody expects 12 year-old children to start stripping at this Iowa club. The 17 year-old who sneaked in now dances there legally since she is now 18.

This Iowa case could have repercussions for strip clubs across the state if the judge rules that the club is not a legitimate theatre. Maybe they just need to take stripping back to the downtown theatres like the old Burlesque days, if it's just a matter of venue. That'll really confuse the moralists.

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